Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM (born 4 February 1952), served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999.

She was the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as leader of the National Party of New Zealand.

Shipley was born as Jennifer Mary Robson in Gore, New Zealand, one of four sisters. 

Here's the astonishingly interesting line-up (in alphabetical order by first name), of amazing women who rocked the stage at TED2012. (There may have been one or two more due to last-minute program changes...)

When they took the TED stage, these 17 women became role models for millions of girls and young women who aspire to one day take the stage and make their voices heard around the world.

(But 17 is not nearly enough. We need more women on stages everywhere!)

Angie Miller is the 2011 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year. She has spent the past year traveling the nation, speaking and collaborating with K-12 teachers and other educational stakeholders.

Miller has been immersed in middle school education for 11 years, which has deeply affected her spelling and humor. In a typical classroom that Miller runs, students develop their voices to make change.

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is an American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which became the highest-rated program of its kind in history.

She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was once the world's only black billionaire.